Coronavirus
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Here's a quick wrap of the COVID-19 news and case numbers from each Australian jurisdiction for the past week, as reported on Friday, December 2, 2022.
The states and territories are now reporting their COVID-19 statistics weekly instead of through the daily updates that were provided from the early days of the pandemic.
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The state has recorded 32 more COVID-19 deaths, up from 25 last week.
There are 37,796 new cases, an increase from 31,531 last week.
With 1,481 people in hospital, there are 38 with COVID-19 in intensive care.
Victoria has reported 26,971 new cases in seven days, up from 22,281 last week.
Unlike other states, Victoria records its hospitalisations and intensive-care admissions with a seven-day rolling daily average.
The state averaged 550 daily hospitalisations and 21 daily intensive care admissions.
There was also 54 deaths reported in the past seven days, down from 68 last week.
The Top End has recorded 750 new COVID-19 cases in the past week, up from 329 last week.
There are 25 people hospitalised with COVID-19 in the territory, which is 10 more than last week.
Two new deaths have been reported.
The ACT has reported 2,239 new cases this week, up from 1,757 last week.
The territory has 33 active cases in hospital, with no-one in intensive care.
One death was reported this week.
Queensland has reported 11,217 new cases of COVID-19, up from 10,082 last week.
The state has confirmed 15 deaths in the latest reporting period.
As of November 30, there were 320 people in hospital with the virus, including eight in intensive care.
South Australia has reported 9,684 new cases of COVID-19, up from 9,000 last week.
There are 128 patients in hospital with COVID-19, including eight in intensive care.
The state has reported 12 deaths in the past week.
Western Australia has reported 11,762 new cases, up from 10,520 last week.
The state said there were 185 people with COVID-19 in hospital, including four in intensive care. as of 4pm on December 1.
Western Australia has reported 14 deaths dating back to November 19, which were reported in the last week.
Tasmania has reported 3,957 new cases this week, up from 2,712 last week.
There are 72 people with COVID-19 in hospital, including two in intensive care.
Five new deaths have been reported.
Feel like you're getting one virus after another post-COVID? There are many reasons why that could be the case.
With the Omicron subvariant "soup" currently doing the rounds, the antibodies you generate in the face of one infection don't necessarily protect you against other subvariants for long.
But the reasons some people seem to be more susceptible to reinfection or other diseases after COVID are complex.
Paul Griffin, an infectious disease physician and microbiologist at the University of Queensland, said "some immune systems are overactive, while others are less equipped to protect against certain types of infections".
You can continue reading this story by science reporter Belinda Smith here.
Researchers want to develop drugs that stop the virus getting into the body in the first place. That includes nasal sprays that stop the virus attaching to cells in the nose.
Other researchers are looking at the potential for nasal sprays to stop the virus replicating in the nose, or to make the nose a hostile place to enter the body.
You can keep reading about the science and what we can expect next in this analysis piece by Lara Herrero.
COVID-19 has changed all of our lives in various ways, so we asked photographers in 21 countries to take us inside people's living rooms to see how the past three years have changed their realities.
From deaths of family members to the births of new ones, it's an intimate look at people's lives and how the coronavirus pandemic reshaped their hopes for the future.
You can keep reading this photo-based piece by our Story Lab team here.
See our full coverage of coronavirus
We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work.
This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced.
AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)
